Logical For Legal Pioneering

June 11, 1985

Whether it's battling a landlord or resolving child visitation rights in a divorce, dealing with the court system has become so complicated that it takes an attorney to make sense of it. But now the Legislature has paved the way for making the system a little simpler.

Lawmakers this year agreed to start a one-stop shopping approach to legal services. What will happen is that one county in Florida will open a courthouse office that will aid people who really don't need to hire a lawyer to solve their legal problems. The office will either mediate the legal disputes or send the person to another program that can handle it. People wouldn't need to hire a lawyer just to get through the courthouse maze. If the program is a success, it will eventually be expanded to every other county.

What's left now is for a state commission to decide where to put this first office. The most logical place is Orange County.

Why would Orange County be the best place for the program? First of all, the Orange County Bar Association has been a leader in setting up programs to help people resolve their legal problems outside of court. It was one of the first bar associations in Florida to set up a program in which volunteer attorneys help people resolve neighborhood disputes and consumer problems without going to court. Furthermore, the Orange County Bar requires attorneys to donate time or money to legal aid. Thus, there would be a pool of people to work in this courthouse legal assistance office.

Third, it can help raise the money needed for the program. While the Legislature authorized this new program, it didn't set aside $50,000 necessary to set it up. That was a mistake. Lawmakers okayed more judges this year to handle the increasing number of court cases but they didn't spend any money to settle these cases easier and cheaper through this program.

With the strength of its bar association and Chief Circuit Judge George Diamantis, who has been working to find alternatives to court, Orange County should be able to come up with the money.

The $50,000 price tag is a bargain. It would help a lot of people solve their legal problems without an attorney and clear up court calendars for the really serious cases. It is a good step toward opening the courthouse doors in Florida to everyone.